忽高忽低
hūgāohūdī · HSK 7
I suddenly
🎢 忽 sudden + 高 high + 忽 sudden + 低 low = jumping suddenly high then suddenly low
The 忽…忽… frame means now-this, now-that: 忽高忽低 is something that swings up and down without warning, like a price, a pitch, or a flame. Note: this describes fluctuating up and down, not I suddenly.
高 — pictograph of a tall building/tower
高 is a pictograph of a tall structure, likely a watchtower or multi-story gate, with a roof on top, an upper chamber, and a base below. From this concrete image of height it extended to the general meanings 'tall,' 'high,' and figuratively 'lofty' or 'noble.'
低 — person radical 亻 + 氐 (base)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 亻 (person) gives the meaning, while 氐 supplies the sound and originally depicted something reaching the ground or base. Together they suggest a person bowing low, which extended to the general sense of 'low' in height, position, or degree.